The fire that blazed for more than three hours Sunday at Gerbers of Montana’s machine and fabrication building is considered under control, according to Chief Steve Hester of Great Falls Fire/Rescue.

“I think the fire is pretty much out,” Hester said. “We’re trying to keep an eye on it, though, because some of that stuff is pretty insidious.”

As of 5 p.m. Monday, the remaining fire crew hadn’t put any water on the building for the last 5 to 6 hours, but Hester said all it takes is a hot ember inside a wall to start things up again. A crew was stationed at the building all day Monday and planned to stay there until at least late Monday evening, when GFFR would reassess the situation.

“If nothing happens by then, we’ll probably turn it back over to the owners and just do regular checks on it just to make sure,” Hester said.

Hester had been in contact with the business’ owner, who was not available for comment Monday, to “start the whole process of making that facility secure.”

According to Hester, that process includes getting an insurance adjuster on site and making the building safe for the community. After that, cleanup and remediation can begin, along with the filing of insurance claims to try to get things back to normal.

“We don’t want anybody to mess with it until the adjusters get there and look at it,” Hester said. “It’s up to the insurance company once we turn it back over to the private party.”

Gerbers of Montana, which provides sales and repair of a variety of agricultural, automotive, oil and gas field and commercial kitchen equipment, is currently open for business, but Hester emphasized that the area around the burned building could still be unsafe.

“The most important part just to stay out of that area right now,” he said. “We still have people curious who want to take a look, but I would stay out of there just until we’re sure.”